Re: <nettime> fun with ACTA astrohoovering (was Re: Internet for Democracy. Shut down the Euro Parliament. Now!)

[t byfield <tbyfield@panix.com>]

Well done, Jamie.

I'm a bit chagrined at having read too much into it, of course, though
not enough to feel the temptation (as you did hypothetico-vicariously-
jokingly-etcly-etcly, apparently) to make out like I was somehow in on 
the secret. But that's less important than the 'fact' (because Clements 
said so!) that this thing turns out to be much more innocuous than I'd 
feared. Though 'art' that somehow manages to be innocuous yet (IMO) 
vaguely destructive at the same time is getting a bit tired and tiring. 
'Overidentification,' meet Gaddis's _Recognitions_:

     "If by any stretch of imagination I could accuse you of 
     being literary, I might accuse you of sponsoring this 
     illusion that one comes to grips with reality only through 
     the commission of evil. It's all the rage."

A really neurotic discourse: OT1H to withdraw into a hypothetical realm 
in which an utterance is liberated by irony to mean anything or nothing 
(because it's said to be art), OT0H to compensate for this pantomime by 
striking ever-more grotesque postures. It isn't hard to see how or why 
~actionist no-globos and their imagery (which is self-defined, right?) 
would be an attractive target for ideologically committed ironists. But
we don't need to go that far, because even 'real petition services' --
pretty weak tea -- are too much. Or, in Clements's 'own' words, from the 
curious document "disclaimer.php" at repetitionr.com:

     Repetitionr is an artwork by Les Liens Invisibles. The main
->   purpose of the project is not to become a real petition service
->   competitor but to inspire a ludic point of view about them.
     Repetitionr in not connected in any way to any petition service,
     it just works as a petition software, but it grants the result
     generating fake identities.

     < www.repetitionr.com/disclaimer.php>

(Nothing quite kills that ludic feeling than being told that someone 
wanted to inspire a ludic point of view in you, IMO. YMMV.)

It continues:

     2. Terms of use
     
     Repetitionr makes no claims that the Materials are appropriate
     for any particular purpose or audience. Recognizing the global
     nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local rules
     regarding online conduct and acceptable Materials. Specifically,
     you agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the
     transmission of technical data exported from the United States or
     the country in which you reside. You are responsible for
     compliance with the laws of your jurisdiction.
     
     We make every effort to ensure that individuals or groups hosting
     petitions at Repetitionr respect these Terms of Use. However, we
     cannot assume responsibility for any violations of these Terms of
     Use or our Privacy Policy by users. In the event of a concern
     that a petition host may have committed a violation, we encourage
     you to contact us directly. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COMPANY, ITS
     PARTNERS, OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO ANY USER OR ANY THIRD
     PARTY FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION,
     DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY
     OR LOST PROFITS) RESULTING FROM VIOLATIONS OF TERMS OF USE
     ARISING FROM YOUR PETITION, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT,
     TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT THE COMPANY
     IS ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
     
     3. Warranty
     
     WE TRY TO KEEP REPETITIONR UP, BUG-FREE, AND SAFE, BUT YOU USE IT
     AT YOUR  OWN RISK. WE ARE PROVIDING REPETITIONR &quot;AS IS&quot;
     WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR  IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING, BUT NOT
     LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF  MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A
     PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND  NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE
     THAT REPETITIONR WILL BE SAFE OR  SECURE. REPETITIONR IS NOT
     RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS, CONTENT, INFORMATION, DATA OF THIRD
     PARTIES.

So much for irony or 'ludism.' It looks like Arolfini and Clements 
themselves *know* the law trumps aesthetic blabla. Maybe that's 
because the law actually means what it says.

But, yeah, still, sloppy of me to miss the Arnolfini stamp.

Cheers,
T

jamie@jamie.com (Fri 03/12/10 at 10:56 AM +0100):

> ... or it could an arrrrrrt project :)
> 
> Just saying... being a bit jealous of Ted's sleuthing (seriously, why
> do I never think of doing things like this instead of -- for example
> -- getting worked up over Facebook 'status'* updates?) I thought I'd
> have a trawl through my inbox for instances of 'notworking', just in
> case it had encountered the device in other contexts.
> 
> Only two such contexts resulted. One is really more of an academic pun
> and I won't bother you with it. The other turned out to be more
> apropos and it's reproduced below, with header intact.
> 
> I also appended the artist's bio, received in another mail a while
> back, because it seemed pertinent. The "concerns" and "themes" are
> just too closely matched, I thought, to our putative astrohoovering
> project  Interest piqued, I even compared the whois on the artist's
> site in-vacua.com with those presented by Ted. But Drat! Nothing
> doing!
> 
> .... But the fact is that you only need to load this putative petition
> site 'RepetitionR; to see it's 'kindly supported by Arnolfini'
> (Gallery)!
> 
> I _cannot believe_ you didn't notice that Ted! I out arrrrrrtist Wayne
> Clements as the perpetrator of this fraud. I also call bullshit on
> your rat-smelling and 'Demand' that you -- and probably all Nettime
> Moderators -- are in on it!
> 
> All your arrrrrtists are in it together and you must be stopped. I
> blame the gallery system, Say no to Arrrrrt.

 <...>

> * (p.s. I really don't want to bring up Facebook but it was only just
> now that I observed the resonance between 'status' as in 'status
> symbol' and 'status' as in 'status update'.)


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